House lawmakers hear public comment on Senate proposed gas tax, amend bill

DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau) - Engineers and contractors testified in support of an automatic gas tax increase at a public hearing Tuesday.

The Senate bill included a provision that would have raised Iowa’s fuel tax automatically each year, tied to inflation. Iowa’s current gas tax is 30 cents per gallon.

Brian Moore of the Iowa County Engineers Service Bureau testified that the increase was necessary for infrastructure funding.

“Every dollar is needed by the cities, counties, and the Iowa Department of Transportation to offset the loss of buying powers,” Moore said.

The provision would have capped increases at one cent per year, and the gas tax could not go up more than three years in a row.

Jason Stauffer of New Century FS testified against the bill, saying a gas tax increase would affect more than just drivers.

“The impact does not stop there,” Stauffer said. “Transportation input costs like fuel prices factor into the cost of goods, services for consumers, farmers, and commercial and users alike.”

After the hearing, the House Ways and Means Committee amended the Senate bill, replacing parts of it with a compromise bill that does not include the gas tax increase.

The compromise proposal announced last week takes elements from the House, Senate and governor’s proposals. The bill now heads to the floor for debate.

Chair of the committee Rep. Carter Nordman said this is not the final form of the bill.

Tuesday was scheduled to be the deadline of the legislative session.